Talking Hearts

Ramblings of a hearty lunatic

May 13, 2010
The difference between bumblebees and honey bees. Found the following here.

Yes, bumble bees are generally larger and are kind of fuzzy. Bumble bees do not lose their sting and die if they use it, as a honey bee will. Honey Bees tend to be more aggresive.That is right and the Bumble bee is of the genus Bombus, and includes various bees in the group. While the Honey bee is of the genus Apis, and includes several social bees that produce honey. Especially (A.mellifera), a widely domesticated source of honey and beeswax.

This I found on Bumblebee.org
So yes, in theory we can get honey from bumblebees as it is made by the same method as hive bee honey, but the quantity is so small that it would never be commercially viable to do so. Also, I believes, that it is thinner and more watery the honey bee honey, so ferments more easily. One average sized bumblebee making about ten foraging flights a day would bring back enough nectar to make about 3 ml of honey. But to recover the honey you would have to break into the nest, destroy the honey pot during extraction and probably destroy eggs and young in the process. Bumblebees nests are not neat organised affairs like honey bees nests, they are rather untidy and disorganised. 

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